Clean Power

Msilin,

I have experimented over the last 1.5 years with various wires to use for dedicated 20-amp circuits. I have the following wire in use in no special order:
1) 10 gage Romex
2) 10 gage UV
3) Belden 83802 (12 gage)
4) Virtual Dynamics 10 gage BX Cryogenically treated with Cryoed circuit breaker. *

I have not tried the following but I’m sure it works, 10 gage solid THHN (white/black/green) manually (electric drill) spiral twist and snake through conduit.

To my ears on my revealing system I hear NO difference between (1-4)! I think simply using a dedicated circuit with 10 gage copper makes the biggest difference.

I hope all that read this find it helpful, it’s cost me about $500 (out of my own pocket) to complete the testing.

* There might be other positive factors to using cryogenically treated wiring besides sonics. It might lower the operating temperature of equipment.

I do not think there there any breakers that work better than others for audio applications however it's possible that a cryo'd breaker and wire might have some advantages as mentioned above.

It is commonly recommended to run at least two or three dedicated lines from the breaker box.

As for your last question I recommend you read the post below on Audiogon in it's entirety:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1058278893&openfrom&1&4#1

I'm sure others will have some good suggestions also.
Best regards,

Question...Some say Romex is directional, but never say which direction it should go. Does anyone have any input?

I'm sure Romex is directional. I cut my wire the desired length and then listened to it run in each direction. It sounded more open when run one direction as opposed to the other. You have to try it to believe it, just as you have to try it to determine which direction it sounds best.

Square-D industrial grade breakers are far better than the typical GE types, IMO.

I would just advise you to give careful consideration to which outlet you choose to terminate your new dedicated line. I have found that they have very substantial effect on audio and video performance. I have had several--PS Audio, Leviton, Pass& Seymore, FIM, Tice Audio, Virtual Dynamics, and currently Jena Labs cryoed(superb) on my 2 dedicated lines. I like to tweak and it is a relatively inexpensive way to upgrade a system. There is definitely something special in the cryoed ones. When the upgrade bug bites again I will probably try Furutech and the Wattgate. Since you are doing your PC's with Wattgates , they might your best bet. I do use a Tice Audio line conditioner. Hope this helps. Have fun. Jim L.

I agree with Jimmymon's comments about cryo'd outlets.

FYI:
The Wattgate 381 and the Furutech outlets will yield very similar sonics, with a large difference in cost.

IMO:
What ever you do, DO NOT have the Wattgate or Furutech cryo'd! It seems to hurt the performance of the gold plating, where as other outlets not gold plated seem to dramatically improve (after proper break-in).

I agree 100%, Lak. I also found that cryoing gold plated WattGates to actually degrade the sound. Also, when doing experiments on tinned copper, it was readily apparent that although tinned copper makes a great cable uncryoed, after cryoing, it doesn't do very well. Bare copper and brass seem to benefit most from cryoing, in my experience. Nickel plating also seems to do marginally better... It's interesting to see someone else notice this...

One important thing that is being over looked is the grounding. The ground is where all the noise in the house is picked up. Install a separate ground rod for your dedicated line. Keep it off the main grounding strap in the breaker box.

FYI - JP Labs make a power line cable to be used in place of Romex. However, it is very expensive at $15/foot. I do not think it is worth it.